Oil can



March 15, 1932.

A. E. WESTWOOD OIL CAN- Filed Jan. 10, 1929 llyvevfor A. E.Wesfwood Patented Mar. 15, 1932 PATENT OFFIC AUBREY E. WESTWOOD, OF WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA Application filed January 10, 1929, Serial No.

The invention relates to improvements in oil cans and an object of the invention is to provide an oil can which will eject a particularly strong stream of oil when actuated, such being particularly desirable for oiling bearings such as are found on motor vehicles.

A further object is to provide an oil can wherein the can or oil reservoir is of such a size that it forms a convenient hand grip and the oil is ejected through the horizontally disposed spout by a. fingerpiece or trigger positioned in relation to the can such that it can be readily manipulated by the first finger when the can body is gripped in the hand.

A further object is to provide an oil can embodying a pump, an actuating finger piece and spout and wherein such parts are carried by a cap demountably attached to the can body so that all such parts can be readily dismounted as a unit from the can body.

A further object of the invention is to con; struct the parts in a simple, durable and in-' expensive manner and such that they can be readily assembled.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide an oil can wherein the pump actuating finger piece is fulcrumed on the spout and is constructed-so that it can be manufactured at relatively small cost and requires no specially constructed pivot bearmg. a

With the above more important objects in view, the invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying draw-- ings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view centrally through the pump, certain parts being shown in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the pump.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the upper end of the pump.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the connection between the spout and the cap.

Fig. 5 is a vertical cross sectional view at 55' Figure 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing the connection between the lower pump cylinder and the pump rod.

331,619, and in Great Britain May 18, 1928.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view through the lower end of one of the cylinders and the cup therewithin, certain other associated parts being shown in side elevation.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of thec'up.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The oil can embodies an oil receptacle or can 1, a cap 2 screw threading onto the up r end of the receptacle, an oil pump 3,,oil ischarge spout 4 and finger piece or trigger 5, the latter three elements being carried by the cap so that they can be dismounted as a unit, with the cap from the can body.

The upper end of the can body terminates in a screw threaded neck 6 which is provided with an internal annular flange 7 and the ca 2 is supplied with an internally screw threa ed continuous flange or rim 8 screw threading onto the neck, there being a gasket 9 interposed between the cap and the flange 7 to insure of an oil tight joint.

The cap is provided on the under side with a centrally located boss 10 which receives the upper end of the pump later described in detail and on the upper side with a cast extension 11 which has its front face reamed out as indicated at 12 to receive the large end of the tapering spout 4 and is provided with an internal passage or duct 13 connecting the spout with the upper end of the pump.

The spout is for the greater part slightly inclined to the horizontal and has the small end thereof horizontal and provided with a nozzle 14 screw threading thereon, the nozzle having a relatively small outlet orifice 15 passing therethrough and communicating with the spout.

The pump embodies an upper stationary cylinder 16 and a lower movable cylinder 17 slidably mounted on the stationary cylinder. 7

The cylinder 16 has the upper end thereof seated in the boss and it is permanently fastened as by soldering or welding. 1 The lower ends of the cylinders are both drawn to provide valve seats 18 and 19 which receive ball valves 20 and 21.

Within the lower end of the lower cylinder,

I locate a cup or spring retainer 22 which has the lower end thereof seating on the bottom of said-cylinder clear of the ball and the upper end thereof provided with an 'inturned continuous flange or ledge 23 which is cross slotted as indicated at 24 at intervals. Within this cup or retainer, I locate a light, cone shaped, coiled spring 25 which has the small end thereof seating on. the top side of the ball and the large end thereof engagmg the flange 23. Between the retainer and the lower end of the upper cylinder, I locate a relatively heavy coiled spring 26 which acts at all times to force the lower cylinder down to its extreme position and which holds also the cup seated in the lower end of the lower cylinder.

1 might here point out that the ball 21 is only acted upon by the relatively light spring 25, such spring holding the ball normally seated to permit it to open under slight pressure. P

The ball 20 is held seated by engagement with the lower end of a spring 27 contained within the upper cylinder and having the upper end thereof engaging with a stop member 28, such latter member being herein shown as made from a substantially U-shaped piece of wire inserted in the upper end of the upper cylinder after the spring 27 has been put in place and held against rising by engagement with the cap.

The lower cylinder is raised by pulling the finger piece or trigger 5 towards the body of the can and is lowered by the pressure of the spring 26. The finger piece 5 is in the form of a substantially L-shaped metal strip having an opening 29 therein through which the spout freely passes and one arm of the strip centrally overlies the butt end of the spout and the cast extension 11 and the other end extends angularly downwardly underneath the spout, the spout, pump and trigger being coplanar. The strip forming the trigger is curved in transverse section to reinforce the same and the end thereof overlying the cap is provided with side lugs 30 and 31 adapted to engage the extension 11. The rear end of the upper arm of the trigger is supplied with an opening 32 through which the plunger rod 33 passes and the plunger rod is provided at the upper end with a head 34 larger than the opening 32.

To the upper end of the lower cylinder, 1 permanently fasten in any suitable manner a bracket 35 having an outstanding horizontally disposed arm which is slotted as indicated at 36 and is supplied adjoining the slot with a down turned finger 37. The lower end of'the pump rod is transversely slotted at both sides to form a contracted neck 38 and a head 39 carried by the neck.

The neck is adapted to enter the slot 36 of the bracket and the length of the neck is approximately equal to the length of the finger. According to this arrangement, one

meager can very readily and detachably fasten the plunger rod to the lower cylinder as it is only necessary to raise the cylinder until the finger will permit 'the neck to be entered in the slot 36 and thenrotate the lower cylinder to pass the neck into said slot, after which time if one releases the cylinder, the spring 26 will end shift the cylinder and cause the head 39 to become locked behind the finger to prevent escape of the neck from the slot.

With the parts in their normal position as shown best in Figure 1, the spring 26 is under compression so it holds all parts connected to the lower cylinder in the position shown in such figure. To the upper side of the butt end of the spout, I secure a stop member 40 which prevents the back shifting of the trigger on the spout and also relieves the plunger rod of any strain. It will be particularly observed that the arrangement provided fulcrums the trigger on the spout and avoids having to make a special pivot bearing for the trigger. The arrangement of all parts is suchthat they can be very easily and quickly assembled and the whole device has a particularly neat and pleasing appearance.

The operation of the pump is as follows, assuming the parts are in the position shown in Figure 1 and that oil is in the receptacle.

The pulling of the finger piece towards the receptacle effects the raising of the lower cylinder and on the initial up stroke, air is expelled therefrom past the valve 20 so that on the subsequent down stroke a partial vacuum occurs in the lower cylinder and oil consequently flows into the lower cylinder, the valve 21 opening.

0n the subsequent up stroke, the valve 21 remains closed under the pressure of the spring 25 and the oil contained in the lower cylinder is forced past the valve 20 to the discharge spout. The capacity of the cylinder and the cross sectional area of the orifice 15 is such that the oil is discharged through the orifice in a forceful stream. The positioning of the trigger in relation to the receptacle is a very convenient one as will be readily apparent.

I might point out also that this pump can be used in a position where there is no oil covering the valve seat 19 such as would occur if the can were nearly empty and held in an inclined position or were inverted. At such time, one can continue to eject oil from the spout until such time that the cylinders and spout are empty.

Considering that the pump has been in use and that it is .inverted, the cylinders and spout will both be full of oil. On the movement of the cylinder 17 towards that 16, the valve 21 will be held closed by the spring 25 and oil pressure and part of the oil within the cylinder 17 will be forced past the valve 20 and out the spout. On the return stroke under the action of the spring 26, the valve 21, which is only lightly pressed by the spring 25, will open and admit air to the cylinder 17 and on the subsequent stroke in the opposite direction more oil will be ejected through the spout. During the following strokes of the cylinder 17, additional air is initially drawn in and subsequently compressed and operates to force the oil from the spout and obviously such action will continue until all oil is forced from the spout. In actual practice, one can manipulate the finger piece possibly fifteen times before all oil is out of the spout and such is obviously quite a valuable feature.

In order to better appreciate the value of the spring 25, I might point out that in the normal position, the pump would operate to expel oil from the receptacle without the spring 25 being utilized as the ball 21 would gravitate to the seat 19 if simply allowed ree movement in the area between the seat 19 and the cup. However, with such an arrangement, one would not be able to clear the oil from the cylinders and the spout upon the can being inverted as just before described for the reason that the ball 21 in the inverted position would be away from the seat 19 and would not close so that an internal pressure could not be built up within the cylinder 17.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a fluid-ejecting device, in combination, a screw cap, an angularly disposed fixed spout carried by the cap, a vertically disposed pump carried by the cap and communicating therethrough with the spout, a substantially L-shaped finger piece provided adjacent the bend with an o ening receiving the spout and having the en with the openlng therein extending downwardly in advance of the cap and the other end extending rearwardly and overlying the cap and an operating connection extending between the latter end of the finger piece and the pump and passing slidably through the cap.

2. In a fluid ejecting device, a fluid receiving receptacle of a size to be conveniently gripped by a users hand and having the upper end thereof 0 en, a removable cap closing the upper end 0 the receptacle, a pump extending downwardly into the receptacle and carried by the cap, an angularly disposed spout carried by the cap and communicating with the pum through the cap, a substantially L-shape finger piece fulcrumed on the spout and having one end extending downwardly from the spout in advance of the receptacle to be gripped by one of the fingers of the users hand gripping the receptacle and the other end overlying the cap and a pump rod connecting the latter end of the finger piece with the pump, said rod passing slidably through the cap.

3. In a fluid ejecting device, the combination with a cap, a stationary cylinder carried by the cap and a movable cylinder slidabl mounted on the stationary cylinder, said cy inders having their lower ends provided with valve seats, of ball valves engaging the seats, a coiled spring contained in the upper cylinder and normally closing the valve thereof, an inverted cup located in the lower end of the movable cylinder and overlying the valve thereof, a coiled spring contained within the-movable cylinder and engaging the cup and the valve seat of the upper c linder, a relatively light spring interpose between the valve of the lower cylinder and the cup and means for reci rocatin the lower cylinder, said means passmg slidably through the cap.

4. In a fluid ejecting device, the combination with a cap and a pump embodying a sliding cylinder movable towards and away from the cap, of a bracket secured to the upper end of the cylinder and provided with a horizontally disposed arm, said arm having a slot therein and a down turned finger adjacent the open end of the slot and a pumprod passing slidably through the cap and having the lower end thereof transversely slotted to provide a contracted neck and a head carried thereby, the contracted neck being adapted to enter the slot of the bracket and of such a length that the head can escape past the finger to permit the neck to enter said slot.

Signed at Winnipeg, this 14 day of De cember 1928.

' AUBREY E. WESTWOOD. 

